~ and dinner table politics

Kala Dionysia!

Today (March 21), beginning at sundown, is the 10 Elaphebolion, and thus, brings us the first day of the feastival of the City Dionysia which lasts for eight days.

The Dionysia was celebrated in honor of the god Dionysus Eleuthereus (god of freedom) and included competitive performances of tragedies. There are profound religious understandings exemplified in the tragedies such as piety and right action.

2 processions were conducted to begin the festival. The first, carrying the statue of Dionysus to and from, and the second where various groups proceeded through the city to the theater, arrayed in groups distinguishable by color or other articles of dress, according to Rabinowitz. The ceremonies started at dawn in the outdoor theater, with purification and lustrations, followed by a dithyramb, and then the plays.